Three Mining Projects Related to Compensation Lake and Monitoring

Oil sands development in northeast Alberta causes fish habitat loss, requiring validated methods to measure impacts and provide offsets under the Fisheries Act. Existing Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) models lack consistency and validation. To address this, the FiSH Committee was formed to standardize monitoring. Phase 1 identified data gaps, especially for key fishery species. Phase 2 focused on filling those gaps through expanded sampling, data integration, and analysis. In 2014, collaboration with the Joint Oil Sands Monitoring Program (JOSMP) improved efficiency and coverage. This report summarizes collected data and outlines plans for final analysis in 2015.

The 2014 field program successfully increased sample sizes for key fish species, improving the dataset for model refinement. Future budgets should prioritize sites that fill data gaps and support replication, especially for large-bodied fish. Sampling should only proceed when complete habitat data, including water quality, is available to ensure robust analysis. Standardized electrofishing effort (~1.4 sec/m²) and continuous monitoring are recommended, along with deploying datasondes at all study sites. CPUE and GPUE models are preferred for analysis, with mixed-effects models used to account for non-independent data. While catchability estimates are available for small-bodied fish, CPUE/GPUE remain valid for large-bodied species. Proposed updates to HSI models should be reviewed with stakeholders in a workshop. Historical data and presence-absence records should be integrated after quality checks. Finally, publishing the full dataset (2006–2015) in a peer-reviewed journal is encouraged to enhance credibility and acceptance of the modeling work.